Through data analysis, business analysts assist firms in enhancing processes, goods, services, and software. These nimble personnel act as a bridge between IT and the business, bridging the gap and improving productivity. You should always try to start a job when you know how much money you will make. According to Herzberg’s theory, a basic salary is essential to ensure survival. As of December 29, 2021, the average Business Analyst salary in the United States is $78,803, however, the salary range frequently ranges between $70,762 and $88,043. Salary ranges can vary greatly depending on a variety of things, including schooling, certifications, supplementary talents, and the number of years you have worked in your field. In this article, we’ll look at the average salary from an entry-level to a senior level for a Business Analyst in the United States, the United Kingdom, and its territories.
What is the Average Salary for a Business Analyst?
The amount of money you can make as a business analyst is determined by a variety of things. These range from your prior experience dealing with data to your level of business or domain expertise, as well as more practical considerations such as your location.
We used data from multiple salary comparison sites, including Glassdoor, Indeed, salary.com, Salary Expert, and Payscale, to provide you with an estimate.
According to employment sites Glassdoor and Indeed, the average business analyst salary in the United States is $75,976 and $76,676, respectively. Meanwhile, salary.com has it at $77,434, Payscale has it at a more conservative $61,741, and Salary Expert has it at a more aspired $94,773.
While these values vary slightly, we can conclude that the average business analyst salary in the United States is roughly $77,000 by taking the mean of these data. Keep in mind that this does not include any monetary bonuses or other potential employment perks. So it’s not too shabby! Naturally, this estimate is a broad average and does not take into account characteristics such as experience and geography. So let’s have a look at these next.
Salary of a Business Analyst Based on Experience
If you are an experienced businessperson with a background in commercial jobs (such as sales, IT, or management), a move into business analytics may be a natural progression. Even if you lack considerable data analytics experience, your unique insights into how firms operate will provide you an advantage, potentially leading to a higher salary. Similarly, a business analyst with a strong data background, such as a software engineer or IT manager, should expect to earn more salary in an entry-level position.
In this part, we look at the average wages of business analysts with varying levels of experience. Payscale’s salary estimations are typically cautious, so we’ll stick with them for that reason. It is preferable to undersell than to oversell! Just keep in mind that if you’re currently in the midst of salary talks, you may be able to go higher than these estimations.
#1. Salary for Entry-Level Business Analyst
You don’t necessarily need commercial experience or a lot of proven ability working with data to secure entry-level employment. However, you will require an undergraduate degree at the very least. If your degree is not in data or statistics, you will almost certainly need a certification to demonstrate that you have fundamental data analytics skills, such as knowledge of Python SQL, advanced Excel skills, basic statistical knowledge, and possibly some understanding of common enterprise IT systems.
According to Payscale, an entry-level business analyst in the United States salary is between $41,000 and $57,000. Based on the estimations in the preceding section, that may not appear to be much. To put this in context, this is still much higher than the US real median personal income (approximately $36,000).
At this point, you’ll most likely be learning big data analytics and Python, as well as polishing your presenting skills. You’ll also be honing your project management skills and learning how to become a change agent within your firm.
#2. Salary of a mid-career Business analyst
According to Payscale, a mid-career business analyst in the United States can earn between $50,000 and $67,500. At this point in your career, you’ll be comfortable carrying out a variety of data-related tasks, having a thorough understanding of data engineering and tools such as machine learning techniques.
On the business side, you’ll be honing your communication abilities, as well as incorporating strategic planning and financial modeling into your job. You should also become more involved in the practical aspects of process engineering. Of course, the specifics are always dependent on the job description. However, at this point, you should be able to carve out your tasks depending on your interests and talents. It is possible to learn for free!
#3. Salary of an Experienced (Senior) Business Analyst
Finally, Payscale estimates that an experienced US business analyst can earn somewhere between $71K and $97K. You might potentially earn considerably more if you keep in mind that these are conservative estimations. And merely adding a senior to the end of that job title raises the average business analyst salary to $86K per year.
At this time, you should have more than five years of experience and should be exploring a move into another data-related field, either by specializing your focus on a certain business domain (such as IT or finance) or by taking a lateral step into another data role, such as data science. The earning potential is significantly greater there.
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Wyoming Business Analyst Salary Structure
A Business Analyst in Wyoming can expect to earn an annual salary of $111,180. Salaries typically range from $49,010 to $200,000,349. In Wyoming, a Business Analyst earns more than 96% of jobs in a similar profession. Here is a screenshot from Sokanu’s website that properly reflects the situation in Wyoming-
Business Analyst Salary Structure – New York
People with the job title Business Analyst get an average yearly salary of $102,815. Salaries typically range from $48,315 to $174,899. The business analysts in Wyoming earn more than 64% more than professionals in similar fields.
Business Analyst Salary Structure – District of Columbia
Business Analysts can expect to make a yearly salary of $101,860 on average. Salaries begin at $64,650 and may reach $144,010. Business Analyst at Columbia earns more than 60% of what experts in similar professions earn.
Business Analyst Salary Structure – Florida
Professionals that work with the organization as Business Analysts may expect to earn an annual salary of $80,010. Salaries typically range from $38,090 to $133,350. Business Analysts in Florida make more than 73% of what people in similar fields earn.
Business Analyst Salary Structure – Maryland
A Business Analyst can expect to earn an annual salary of $94,790 on average. Salaries typically range from $54,850 to $134,440. A business Analyst in Maryland makes more than 68 percent of people in related areas.
Business Analyst Salary Structure – New Jersey
Business Analysts can expect to make a yearly salary of $97,360 on average. Salaries typically range from $53,873 to $155,108. Business Analysts in New Jersey earn more than 67 percent of the professionals in related fields.
Business Analyst Salary Structure – California
Professionals interested in working as Business Analysts can expect to earn an annual salary of $89,769. Salaries typically range from $49,224 to $144,023. California’s Business Analyst earns more than 70% more than experts in similar industries.
Texas Business Analyst Salary Structure
A Business Analyst can expect to earn an annual salary of $88,414 on average. Salaries typically range from $49,069 to $137,598. Business Analysts in Texas make more than 70% of the salaries of professionals in similar industries.
What Factors Influence a Business Analyst salary?
#1. Placement
Few people would add an extra hour or two to their commute, while others may consider moving to a different region for a better firm. Many people are tied to a given place because of family or other obligations.
#2. Work hours
The time required for a long journey, or having the option of leaving right on time to pick up the children, can have a significant impact on pleasing several aspects of an individual’s life. Another reality is that whether a profile expects 40 or 60 hours per week, seven days can have a significant impact on an individual’s contentment.
#3. Size of the company
The size of the company is also important! Working for a startup firm with the chance that an employee would look for another job in a year or two is a significant consideration. Everyone requires work security. Large corporations will, in general, provide more stability, but they will also bring with them management and hierarchical issues that can devalue the vital labor.
#4. Taxes
Assume your average business analyst salary in New York is $10,000. The deductions will be as follows:
| Salary | $10,000 |
| State Income Tax Social Security Medicare Tax | -$92 -$620 -$145 |
| Total Tax | -$857 |
| Net Pay | $9,143 |
| Marginal Tax rate Average Tax rate | 11.65%8.57% |
What factors influence Business Analyst Salary Growth?
#1. Validation
Ladies earn $78,980 on average, while males get $75,410. The average salary of the top five certification holders was $85,804, representing an 11 percent increase in profit, suggesting a preferred critical position to pursuing a Business Analyst certification.
#2. Experience
As previously said, you may now understand how a business analyst’s level of experience contributes to an increase in salary. According to the 2017 report, 79 percent of respondents had a bachelor’s or graduate degree, and a graduate degree in addition to experience results in a $2,566 increase in salary.
According to payscale, a Business Analyst in IT with less than one year of experience can expect to earn a normal absolute pay (including tips, rewards, and extra time salary) of $57,608. A typical salary for an entry-level Business Analyst in IT with 1-4 years of experience is $63,715. A salary of $76,054 is earned by a mid-career Business Analyst in IT with 5-9 years of experience. An experienced IT Business Analyst with 10-19 years of experience earns an annual salary of $83,811. Business analysts earn an average annual salary of $87,324 in their late-career (20 years and up).
#3. Size of the company
According to another 2017 survey, employees working in top MNCs earn 11-27 percent more than individuals working in small firms as business analysts.
#4. Business Analyst Salary varies by Industry.
A Business Analyst often begins a career (in an entry-level role), with a salary of roughly $50,000 per year. But how much money will the Business Analyst make in five years? What about in twenty years?
According to PayScale data, insurance and healthcare offer the highest beginning pay for graduates of business analytics programs. The lowest yearly salary (for business analysts) was expected to be between $40,471 and $40,293, respectively, for financial companies and software applications. Business analysts in the northeast and western regions of the United States earn more than those in the central and southern regions.
Salary ranges of top sectors for the profile of Business analysts are presented below, according to additional data gathered on Linkedin:
| Company | Median Salary | Range (min-max) |
| Chevron | $1,10,000 per year | $79k – $1.5 Lakh |
| Credit Suisse | $95,000 per year | $50K – $1.6Lakh |
| Bank of America | $90,000 per year | $49K – $1.2Lakh |
| General Motors | $90,000 per year | $61K – $1.2Lakh |
| Capital One | $88,000 per year | $80K – $92K |
| Morgan Stanley | $85,000 per year | $45K – $1.1Lakh |
| Cisco | $84,500 per year | $56K – $1.2Lakh |
| TEKsystems | $80,000 per year | $50K – $1.3Lakh |
| State Street | $80,000 per year | $55K – $1.3Lakh |
| Ford Motor Company | $78,000 per year | $69K – $1.1Lakh |
| Accenture | $76,800 per year | $50K – $98K |
| Liberty Mutual Insurance | $76,500 per year | $57K – $83K |
| Tata Consultancy Services | $73,000 per year | $67K – $95K |
| Deloitte Consulting | $72,900 per year | $70K – $82K |
| Amazon | $72,500 per year | $56K – $1Lakh |
| U.S. Bank | $72,500 per year | $50K – $90K |
| Deloitte | $72,500 per year | $66K – $80K |
| Charter Communications | $72,000 per year | $50K – $89K |
| Citi | $70,700 per year | $48K – $96K |
Top paying areas for a Business Analyst in the USA
| Rank | Location | Median base salary | Range (min-max) |
| 1 | San Francisco Bay Area | $85,000 per year | $60K – $1.2Lakh |
| 2 | Greater New York City Area | $75,000 per year | $55K – $1.1Lakh |
| 3 | Greater Seattle Area | $74,900 per year | $55K – $1.0Lakh |
| 4 | Houston, Texas Area | $72,500 per year | $50K – $1.1Lakh |
| 5 | Greater Boston Area | $70,000 per year | $52K – $94K |
| 6 | Greater Los Angeles Area | $70,000 per year | $50K – $95K |
| 7 | Greater Philadelphia Area | $70,000 per year | $49K – $98K |
| 8 | Washington D.C. Metro Area | $70,000 per year | $55K – $96K |
| 9 | Greater Chicago Area | $70,000 per year | $52K – $93K |
| 10 | Charlotte, North Carolina Area | $69,000 per year | $50K – $1.0Lakh |
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Types of Business Analyst
In the following section, we have compiled a list for Business Analysts who are looking for their first job or are unsure of how much money to request after working for an organization for a long time.
| Entry Level Business Systems Analyst Salary | $56,043 |
| Intermediate Level Business Systems Analyst | $71,865 |
| Senior Business Systems Analyst | $86,635 |
| Expert Business Systems Analyst | $100,312 |
| Business Systems Analyst- Consultant | $113,202 |
| Entry Level Business Data Analyst | $54,272 |
| Intermediate Level Business Data Analyst | $70,123 |
| Senior Business Data Analyst | $87,713 |
| Business Process Consultant | $106,234 |
| Business Development Director | $170,307 |
Geographic location affects the salary of a business analyst.
We’ve just looked at the average business analyst salary in the United States so far. However, we live in a globalized world! What if you want to work for another company? Although remote working is now the standard, your salary will be primarily determined by the actual location of the firm for which you work.
In this section, we rank several nations based on the average business analyst salary. This time, we used Salary Expert’s global data. Their estimations are slightly higher than Payscale’s, so we’ve added the US average salary again to create a clear comparison:
- Germany: $96,066 (equivalent to €80,540)
- United States: $94,773
- Australia: $93,484 (equivalent to $123,421 AUD)
- United Kingdom: $78,184 (about £56,242)
- New Zealand: $75,288 (or $106,926 NZD)
- United Arab Emirates: $67,087 (or 246,424 AED)
- South Africa: $27,025 (or R384,716)
- India: $12,659 (or 9,39,251INR)
Germany, as is typically the case with data employment, offers some of the world’s most competitive pay. The United States and Australia are close behind. And, while there appears to be a significant decline after that, the cost of living must be considered. Countries such as Germany, the United States, and Australia are more expensive in real terms, which means that a lower salary in South Africa may appear to be a bad deal, but it may go further. So don’t dismiss the thought of migrating based just on salary figures!
What additional elements can affect your earning potential? Let us investigate.
Business Analyst wages in comparison to other data-related jobs
While categorizing data-related tasks can be useful at times, the truth is that the lines between them are not always clear. Despite having distinct tasks, each data-related profession requires some fundamental data analytics skills.
A data engineer, for example, will rely on software development abilities more than a pure data analyst, who may be more statistically oriented. A data scientist, on the other hand, will typically have a higher level qualification (often a Ph.D.) and a broad understanding of statistics, data modeling, machine learning, corporate management, and so on.
Fortunately, shifting from one role to another isn’t as difficult as you would imagine. If you wish to take on a new role, there are various options available to you. In this part, we compare pay for various data roles in the United States, using data from Payscale once more:
- $61,741 for a business analyst
- $56,991 for marketing analyst
- $61,883 for a financial analyst
- $61,614 for a data analyst
- $92,496 for a data engineer
- $112,850 for a machine learning engineer
- $79,262 for a software engineer / developer
- $96,559 for a data scientist
As you can see, pay for ‘pure’ analytics professionals, i.e. those focusing on certain domain areas like marketing or finance, are comparable. However, once you’ve mastered the fundamentals, you might want to attempt to advance to a more complicated data science or engineering career. If this is the case, your salary will almost surely rise.
Of course, we must also take these estimations with a grain of salt. These are all based on specific job titles rather than the role’s responsibilities. They do, however, indicate the range of how much you can earn.
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Job Description for a Business Analyst
BAs are in charge of developing new models to support business decisions by collaborating closely with financial reporting and IT teams to develop initiatives and strategies to improve importing and reduce costs. According to Robert Half Technology, you’ll need a “deep awareness of regulatory and reporting standards as well as plenty of experience in forecasting, budgeting, and financial analysis along with an understanding of key performance metrics.”
According to Robert Half, a typical job description for a business analyst includes:
- Creating a detailed business analysis highlighting a business’s issues, prospects, and solutions
- Budgeting and projections
- Monitoring and planning
- Analysis of Variance
- Pricing
- Reporting
- Determining business requirements and communicating them to stakeholders
According to Bob Gregory, a professor and academic program director at Bellevue University’s business analysis and management degree program, identifying and then prioritizing technical and functional needs is at the top of the business analyst’s list of responsibilities.
“One of the most important roles for BAs is the elicitation of requirements and using those needs to get IT onboard and understand what the customer truly wants. “Even though the business is the product owner, they must work as a product owner,” Gregory explains.
“[They should ask]: What do the systems need to do, how do they do it, who do we need to seek feedback from, and how do we get everyone to agree on what we need to do before we do it? According to Jeffrey Hammond, vice president, and principal analyst at Forrester Research, “the BA’s existence revolves around defining requirements, prioritizing requirements, and receiving input and approval on requirements.”
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Business Analyst Skills
The profession of business analyst necessitates both hard and soft talents. Business analysts must be able to pull, evaluate, and report data trends, as well as share that information with others and apply it on the business side. A background in IT is not required for all business analysts as long as they have a general understanding of how systems, products, and tools work. Alternatively, some business analysts have a strong IT background but little business experience and are interested in transitioning from IT to this hybrid function.
According to the IIBA, the following are some of the most significant abilities and experience for a business analyst:
- Communication abilities, both oral and written
- Interpersonal and consultative abilities are required.
- Capabilities in facilitation
- Problem solving and analytical thinking
- Being detail-oriented and capable of providing high-level results
- Organizational abilities
- Understanding of business structure
- Analysis of stakeholders
- Engineering of requirements
- Analyze the costs and benefits
- Modeling of processes
- Knowledge of networks, databases, and other technology
Discover your road to becoming a Business Analyst.
As a business analyst in the United States, you can earn $81,896 per year, which can increase to $141,590 per year as you gain credentials and experience. Other factors influence business analysis expert compensation, such as geography, qualification, talents, and so on. Pursue the road of learning and acquiring talents in the linked field, and you will be able to sail the ship of achievement.
How much can you expect to make as a Business Analyst, depending on the level of education you have?
Well, the more education you have under your belt, the more you can potentially earn as a Business Analyst. For instance, if you hold a master’s degree in a related field, you may command a higher salary than someone with just a bachelor’s degree.
Can having certain skills set affect your salary as a Business Analyst?
You bet! Certain skills, like proficiency in data analysis or project management, can make you more valuable to an organization and increase your earning potential. So if you have those sought-after skills, it may be reflected in your paycheck.
Does the size of a company you work for impact your salary as a Business Analyst?
It can, yes. Typically, larger companies have more resources to offer higher salaries, but it also depends on the industry and location. So, it’s good to keep that in mind when considering job offers.
What’s the average salary for a seasoned Business Analyst?
Typically, senior Business Analysts make more than entry-level ones. On average, they earn somewhere between $75,000 and $115,000 annually, but this can vary greatly based on their experience, skills, and location.
What’s the starting salary for a Business Analyst fresh out of college?
Starting salaries for Business Analysts can vary greatly, but on average, you can expect to make around $60,000 to $75,000 as an entry-level Business Analyst. Of course, this can vary depending on the company and location.
Does where you work as a Business Analyst impact your salary?
Yes, location can definitely impact your salary as a Business Analyst. For example, Business Analysts in San Francisco or New York may earn more than those in smaller cities. So, it’s worth considering where you want to work when thinking about your career as a Business Analyst.
Business Analyst Salary FAQs
Are business analysts well paid?
Business Analysts are certainly highly compensated for their efforts, and with job market demand outperforming entry-level prospects, the salary for the Business Analyst should continue to climb.
Is business analyst a dying career?
The truth is that business analyst is not a fading profession. A wide number of firms around the world continue to hunt and employ for business analyst roles, indicating that the role is in high demand.
Who earns more business analyst or developer?
While salaries differ depending on region, a business analyst often earns less than a software developer.
Who earns more business analyst or data analyst?
According to Indeed.com, data analysts earn an average salary of $70,246. Business analysts often earn more, but experts in both jobs are well-positioned to advance to the role of “data scientist” and earn a data science salary—$113,436 on average.
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